


Life Will Change

by baileek313



Series: Turnabout Persona [3]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Does contain elements and plot from Royal, Gen, IF YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CONTENT IN PERSONA 5 THEN YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Persona 5 Spoilers, all big things will be tagged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27812389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baileek313/pseuds/baileek313
Summary: He didn't do anything wrong. Apollo was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But still, he was falsely convicted of assault and sent to live in Los Angeles for the year on probation. During this time, he only has one rule to follow: don't get into trouble. Whether Apollo likes it or not, trouble seems to find him when a mysterious app appears on his phone and he sees corrupted hearts just about everywhere he goes.If staying out of trouble means that Apollo has to stay silent while others suffer... then maybe it's a rule that's worth breaking... At least he has some friends that are willing to get into trouble with him.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Turnabout Persona [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867861
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Life Will Change

**Author's Note:**

> Finally stepping into the Persona 5 part of the Turnabout Persona series!  
> I'm excited to get started here, because I really love writing Apollo. And there's some stuff in this series that I really love as well.  
> For context, this is part 3 in an AU where:
> 
> Mia is Hamuko/Minako/Kotone  
> Phoenix is Yu/Souji  
> and Apollo is Ren/Akira.
> 
> This also will contain spoilers for the events of the P3 and P4 parts of the story as well, so be warned about that. Also be warned that the in this chapter, every member of the Phantom Thieves will be referred to by codename rather than their actual names in order to keep who they are (aside from Apollo, who gets revealed later, and Morgana) a secret for the time being. Everyone's welcome to guess who's who though!
> 
> Anyway, let's get started in media res with the first chapter!
> 
> And fair warning, this chapter does contain violence against Shadows and against Apollos. I love him, but the police are not kind in any way, shape or form to him. Each scene is marked with a date, so if you want to skip that scene, it is fine. the stamp for that one is "April 21, 2021. Time: Unknown. Location: Unknown".
> 
> Alright, let's get started!

_...The contract has been sealed. _

_ The world is not as it should be. _

_ It is filled with distortion, and “ruin” can no longer be avoided. _

_ Those who oppose fate and desire change… _

_ From time to time, they were referred to as Tricksters. _

_ You are the Trickster… _

_ Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion. _

* * *

To say that the place was in absolute chaos… well, it wasn’t exactly an overstatement. Ace leapt through the air, splitting off from his shadow and leaping across the light fixtures above the casino’s patrons, red coattails fluttering behind him. He could see some of their faces. They looked nervous, worried that something was about to happen to them.

Well… he leaned up against one of the cables holding up the light fixture, shifting his grip on the briefcase that he held in his hand. He supposed that something would happen. Given the calling card they had sent to the casino earlier, everyone was on high alert. And right now—‌

Ace glanced over his shoulder at the shadow in the window behind him. He could see a smirk on their face.

“Good luck,” was all that he said before Ace felt something whizz by his ear. The shot struck the fixture in front of him, severing the cable. It couldn’t stay up on its own. The remaining cables snapped, and the light fixture fell into the least populated area in the crowd. Ace didn’t have any time to check if anyone was hurt by the fall.

He immediately locked eyes with the security agents down below. The not-so-accidental accident had drawn their attention towards him. One of them was speaking into a radio, and the rest… were trying to find a way up to his location. And the shadow in the window was gone, now. ...whoops.

Oh well, better late than never. Tightening his grip on the briefcase in hand, he turned and leapt towards the wall. Ace found an air vent, and as expected, he was able to pop off the cover with ease. Without much care, he threw the briefcase into it before jumping down to some of the more stable fixtures that lead to the upper floor of the casino.

The other thieves could handle the briefcase. Now that he had the guards’ attention… well, the show was just beginning then, wasn’t it?

He heard Enigma’s voice first over the thieves’ communication line. “This is our only chance.”

“You can get away now!” Witch echoed in his ear. “We’ll retrieve the briefcase from our end.”

“Just concentrate on getting away!” added Mona. Ace let out a nod, despite knowing the fact that neither of them probably couldn’t see him at the moment. His merry band of thieves were most likely spread out throughout the casino by now, and safely away from security’s eyes.

“I gotcha,” Ace replied as he gave himself a running start. With agility and dexterity to rival Comet’s, he jumped across the fixtures in front of him, never once missing a beat in his movements. The conversation continued as he went.

“But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move,” Mona went on. “Nice work as always, Ace!” Ace smirked. It was pretty smart, wasn’t it?

“Not even Crow could pull it off that smoothly,” Bard said with a chuckle.

“That’s because she has no sense of aesthetic,” said Prince, a bit of distaste laced into his tone. Ace heard Crow scoff before Prince had even finished his sentence.

“Oh, no one asked you, Your Imperial Highness!” she snapped back. He chuckled a little at their banter. As Ace reached the balcony on the other end of the room, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. More security guards coming out of the woodworks. ...well, that was peachy.

“There he is!” And now they caught sight of him. Even better.

“Guys—!” Ace said, a little worry in his voice. He pulled himself up onto the floor.

“Just get out of there!” Witch nearly shouted, her voice loud enough to blow out his ear drum. He would have to remind her later that communications came in directly through the thieves’ ears. Unfortunately for her, the guards were coming directly for him. Even better! Ace felt the white domino mask he wore burn on his face.

He pulled it off with a shout. The mask transformed into the burning power in his heart. It materialized behind him, taking aim at the shadowed guards that were racing towards him, most likely to try and capture him… or worse. As if reading the User’s mind, projectiles of light shot straight forward. They pierced the guards’ chests.

How weak were these guys that they exploded into black goo upon impact? Ace let out a sigh as the power dissipated, returning his mask to his face.

“Okay, the enemy’s focus is on him,” Ace heard Mona say. That had to be a good thing that had come out of this, he supposed. Only he was in danger. “Looks like the rest of us can slip away.”

“Does anyone remember where we’re meeting up?” asked Rogue. Ace let out a huff of frustration as more guards came to replace the ones that had just fallen. They weren’t giving up, were they?

“Don’t worry,” said Witch, reassuring Rogue. “I can guide you all.”

Ace let out a yelp, dodging one of the guards’ swipes as they got a little too close. He acted quickly, drawing the shortsword that seemed to materialize at his hip and taking a swing. The guard let out a cry as his hand was cut off, but the attack was enough for Ace to make his get away.

He ran forward just as another guard came at him. Acting quickly, he grabbed the guard by the shoulders. Ace pushed himself up, flipping over the guard in question. He kept running to the other end of the balcony. There was one even higher up. Using the ledges that lined the wall to his advantage, Ace climbed up, flipping onto the higher floor. Well… that would keep them away for a little while.

“Ace, there’s an exit right behind you!” Ace perked up when he heard Witch’s voice. He turned.

“The door?” he asked, a brow raised and a smirk playing on his lips. He could practically picture Witch rolling her eyes.

“Stop being snarky and move it.” With a chuckle, Ace dashed to the door. Much to his relief, it was unlocked. “You should be able to get out this way. Hurry!” He nodded to no one again, throwing the door open and slipping inside.

“Can the others hear me?” Ace asked as he ran down the hall that he found himself in. What was this? A storage area of some kind?

“Don’t worry, I can hear everyone loud and clear. Just get going, Ace!” Ace let out a sigh, but did as he was told anyway. He sprinted down the hall on his toes, trying to keep the footfall of his boots as quiet as possible.

“Not what I asked.” He needed to know that they could communicate somehow in case things went—‌

“We can hear ya!” Comet chirped in his ear. Ace let out a short sigh as he came to a window, separating the room from the main building’s hall. A window? He bit his lip as a guard ran by said window, quickly ducking behind a corner to conceal his presence. “We got away from those guys in black, but there are still loads more of ‘em.”

Ace peeked out from his hiding place. The guard was gone. He dashed by the window as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, even the guards seemed to be waiting for him here. He ducked behind a crate, for once in his life thankful for his shorter stature. He peered around his hiding spot. He would just stick to the shadows until he saw an opening and—‌

Crow’s panicked voice cut off Ace’s train of thought. “Verity ran off.”

Ace’s eyes went wide, unable to stop himself from replying. “She what?!”

He acted quick, slamming a hand over his mouth and ducking back behind the crate. He held his breath, listening to the guard’s confused murmurs at the sudden voice they heard. Ace reached for the hilt of his blade.

“Where’d they go?! Dammit!” one of the guards said in frustration. Ace pushed himself into the shadows, hoping that the darkness did enough to cover up the bright white of his shirt and the red of his tailed-waistcoat from sight. Lucky for him, they ran past without paying him much mind.

“She ran off. How hard is that to understand?” said Enigma as Ace let out a sigh. “She didn’t take too well to being told to stay behind and—”

“I know what that means, Enigma,” Ace fired back at his teammate. He leapt to his feet, racing out the door and up a staircase that only led to… another hallway. Jeez, this place was like a labyrinth, wasn’t it?

“For a moment, it seemed like you didn’t.”

Ace groaned. “Can you not be smart for one min—?!”

“Stop!” Witch cut in, and Ace slowly came to a halt, ducking behind another corner for safety. “We’ll never get away like this. Stick to the shadows and sneak past when you can. This goes for all of you. And keep an eye out for Verity. She’s ignoring me.” Ace rolled his eyes.

_ I think I know where she is…  _ He bit back a groan. The coast wasn’t as clear as he thought.

“I’m pretty sure she’s heading your way, Ace,” said Witch.

_ And theory confirmed.  _ Ace spotted a catwalk just a little higher up. The crates in this room reached it. He quickly began climbing up, thankful for the red gloves that covered his hands. He moved swiftly as he could, doing his best to keep himself quiet to avoid suspicion.

“I’ll find her,” said Ace in a low whisper. “Just get out of here, do you hear me? I’ll send her back to Crow as soon as I see her.”

“If Witch can’t get her to listen, what makes you think you can?” asked Rogue, snark evident in his voice. Ace sighed, rolling his own eyes.

“Because she always listens to me.”

_ I don’t get why, but she does.  _ Ace kept his eyes on the catwalk in front of him. Relief hit him as soon as he reached it. He heaved himself up on it, out of the guards’ reach for now. Ace ran down the walkway into another room, continuing with his alternate route.

They… They  _ really _ wanted to catch him, didn’t they? …Well, there was no way that Ace was going to make it easy for them by any means necessary. What was the point of this song and dance if he couldn’t have a little fun while doing it?

“Ace!” Ace came to a screeching halt, nearly tripping over his own two feet with how fast he did it. “Enemies are rushing towards you! And—!” Witch’s voice was distorted and warped by static to the point that Ace could no longer properly hear her. What—‌?!

Before Ace could realize what was happening, black goo bubbled up around him. More guards appeared, all towering and hulking over the thief.

...Shit.

Ace reached for his sword with one hand, and went for his mask with the other. He grit his teeth, doing his best to keep an eye on all those around him. If he got caught he… if they brought him down, then everyone else would—‌!

He heard small, quick footsteps at the other end of the room. Ace turned, and his eyes went wide. Even without the thief costume nearly sparkling in the dim light, it wasn’t hard for him to tell who it was.

“Verity!” Ace shouted. She needed to get as far away from here as—‌ Verity rushed towards him, her own sword drawn. With a cry, she threw it and Ace shut his eyes, flinching. But he felt no pain. He carefully opened his eyes again to find the sword embedded in the chest of the guard closest to him.

With their comrade injured, the other enemies turned to her. With a giggle, Verity swiftly dodged out of the way, using her own small stature to her advantage… which wasn't fair, really. She was still just a kid, of course they couldn’t catch her. Verity flipped back in the air, tearing off her own mask and calling for aid.

Much like Ace’s had, Verity’s own power manifested from her mask took shape behind her. Under her control, the power charged forward with sharpened fingers. The guards were sliced apart, melting in the black goo from whence they came.

Ace released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Verity’s mask returned to her face. Ace could make out the satisfied smile she had on in the room’s dim lighting. It, however, was not returned.

“What are you doing here?” Ace asked, eyes narrowed behind his mask.

“I’m here to help!” Verity replied. She ran over to him, leaping up and kicking the guard she attacked earlier in the face. She kicked her sword up as well, making the guard’s wound wider. It fell behind Ace as he turned to face the girl, arms crossed.

“You scared the stuffing out of everyone is what you did.” Verity caught her sword in the air. Ace let out a sigh as she sheathed it. “Witch, can you hear me?”

“I take it the two of you are okay?” Ace sighed once more when he heard Witch’s voice come in over communications. Whatever was the cause for the static earlier seemed to be gone now. Good. He wouldn’t know what he would do without it.

“Yeah,” Ace patted Verity’s head as she giggled again. He ruffled her hair. “We’re good on this end.”

“Alright, but enemy back-up is on the way.” Ace bit back a frown. Of course they were... “You two need to move. Now!”

“Got it.” Well, Ace definitely wasn’t going to ‘get going’ immediately. There was still one thing he needed to take care of. He glanced down at Verity, who was still grinning.

“Shall we be going?” she said.

“ _ I’m _ going to go that way.” Ace uncrossed his arms, resting one hand on his hip with the other pointed to the escape behind him. “ _ You’re _ going to listen to Witch and go back to Crow.” He didn’t need better lighting to know that Verity’s face fell at that.

“But—”

“No buts! Just go find her or whoever’s closest besides me and stay safe.” That was all he wanted right now. He had asked one thing from her. Her entire family had asked for one thing. One! Why couldn’t she…?!

“Ace—”

“I mean it. This is dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt.” He didn’t want any of them to get hurt. That’s why he was doing this in the first place. Verity looked down at the ground, gloved hands taking in the fistfuls of her skirt. Ace crouched down to the girl’s level, lifting his mask while placing his other hand on her shoulder. “I still have something that I need to do before meeting up with the rest of you, alright?”

Verity bit her lip before swiftly nodding.

“Okay… You’ll be okay, right?” Ace nodded. “You remember the promise that we made, right? Don’t forget it! Or this one, either!” Verity held out a fist, with only her pinkie finger raised. “Come back safe and sound, okay?”

Ace nodded again, interlocking his own finger with hers. “I promise. Now go!”

Verity nodded. She turned tail and ran off in the direction that Ace had entered the room from. Ace stood up swiftly, pulling his mask back down and dashing off in the other direction. 

_ “She’s such a young girl…”  _ echoed the voice that resided in Ace’s head. Ace let out a sigh as he turned the corner, finally exiting the storage room. He ran into what he assumed was a staff hallway, dodging guards as he went.

_ And she doesn’t understand what we’re trying to do, _ he inwardly replied, swallowing something in his throat. The whole scheme and every step that the Phantom Thieves had taken replayed in his head… especially his part in it. _ Or what I'm about to do. Like I said, I don’t want her to get hurt. _

_ “We’ve done well thus far in protecting all of them. It’s hard to believe that you’ve come this far when you just Awakened to your magnificent power this autumn.” _

Ace ducked behind a corner, slinking underneath the security room’s window. They were still looking for him. He smirked as he crept past, immediately running away again as soon as the coast was clear.

_ I’ve had some very good people to help with that.  _ The images of his friends… his family, his fellow Phantom Thieves came to mind. They had been through so much since their first heist in September, only seven months ago now. If it weren’t for them, Ace wasn’t sure that he would be the person he was now.

Ace dashed up the stairs, rushing past a group of security guards in the process. As he did, he caught one tidbit of information relayed over their radio: “He’s not alone! Find them and kill them all!”

Ace’s eyes widened as he stumbled, the resulting clatter loud enough for the nearby guards to hear.  _ No! _

_ “Our fate as well as theirs will soon be determined…”  _ Ace grit his teeth and skidded around the corner, running as fast as he could. These guys weren’t playing around...  _ “Remember, you must recall everything… Remember the bonds that you have forged with your friends and family… If we are to continue past this point, then—‌” _

_ I know… everything rests on me.  _ He picked up his pace as the casino’s entry hall came into view. He was so close…  _ I’m not going to let them down. _

Ace slowed down as he came to the bannister that kept anyone on the floor’s upper balcony from falling below to the lower level. He could hear the guards coming up behind him. Now what?! He had to get out somehow—‌

“The exit should be right up ahead,” chimed Witch in Ace’s ear, as if she had been reading his mind. Right up ahead? The only thing Ace could see up ahead was the front door —‌ large and as grand as the stain-glass window above it… and heavily guarded.

“Through there?” Ace asked, eyes wide. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Ace bit back a groan at Witch’s reply. Seriously? “After all that, the bottom floor—”

“It’s closed off,” finished Crow. Ace groaned again. Well, this was just perfect.  _ Just _ perfect.

“Can you make it?” asked Bard, sounding somewhat concerned. Ace’s eyes quickly scanned the area before him. All doors were guarded, just as Crow had said. At this rate, Ace’s only chance of getting out of this place would be through the window—‌

...wait.

“Hmph,” Ace smirked. It was a really ridiculous and reckless idea, but at this point, he had little to no option. “Can I?”

“Over there!” Ace turned. More security agents had caught up to him. “There’s nowhere to run!” 

That’s what they thought. Swallowing down a bit of bile in his mouth, Ace leapt up onto the railing. With an impressive amount of balance, he raced across it to the other side of the room. He crouched down in front of the large, stain-glass window. Ace smirked, flashing his smug grin to the agents one more time.

“See ya!” he called back with a snicker. Ace threw his arms over his head to protect himself from what he was about to do next. He pushed off the railing and jumped out the window.

The shriek of shocked patrons below was like music to Ace’s ears. He snickered as he flipped in the air, form outlined by moonlight and shattered glass. He could already hear his teammates’ responses on his ears.

“Hmph. What a show-off…” said Witch.

“You’re so reckless, you know that?” Comet added. It just proved a point. With a small grunt, Ace landed, rolling on the asphalt just outside of the casino. The remainders of the glass hit the ground around him as he finally stopped in a crouch. Well… Ace stood up, brushing whatever glass had gotten on him off.

_ Not too bad if I say so my—‌ _ Ace’s head snapped up when he heard voices behind him. In the next instant, bright white spotlights were lit, illuminating the Phantom Thief in the dark. He whirled around, using his arm to shield his eyes from the harsh lighting.

Cops. So many policemen… practically a small army of them had been waiting right outside the casino to ambush them. Ace heard his teammates’ voices overlap on his ears.

“Enemies here?!” exclaimed Prince.

“What’s wrong?” said Enigma, doing his best to remain calm.

“These readings…” Witch sharply gasped, “it can’t be!”

“What happened?!” said Comet in a rush, not even trying to hide his panic.

“An ambush?!” Crow cried out.

“Ace, can you handle this?!” Mona asked. Ace carefully lowered his arm. He wasn’t sure.

“ _ ACE _ !” shouted Bard.

“Oh shit!” Rogue swore. Ace was rooted in place. His friends, his fellow thieves… Shit!

He heard the order to capture him over the sounds of his teammates’ frantic voices. And that as all he needed. Ace ran, moving as fast as his legs could carry him away from the police team. And they followed, keeping the light focused on him all the while. He could just get up high enough to get away—‌!

He caught sight of a fire escape. Perfect. And it was just the right height, too.

Ace reached his target. He jumped up, grabbing the lowest rung. He swung his weight back and forth for a moment, using the mementoum provided to start his climb. He smirked, looking down at the crowd below as he made his way up. They would never catch him now—‌!

Ace looked back up as he reached the top of the ladder. His face fell. Armed officers were waiting up there, too. One of them raised the butt of their rifle, and before Ace could do anything about it, he was struck hard in the face.

Ace let out a cry as his grip slipped from the ladder. He fell back, right into the middle of the police swarm waiting for him below. He hit the ground with a thud. Ace felt hands on him, flipping him over and pressing his face into the asphalt. 

Ace spat out the gravel that got into his mouth. He struggled against his captors, but his escape had drained him. All that running, all that fighting… He couldn’t stop them from pinning his arms behind his back, them from holding his legs down and overall keeping him still.

Just because they had him didn’t mean Ace wasn’t going to fight back. The swarm of cops parted like the Red Sea as a man in a suit —‌ whom Ace assumed was the detective leading the whole raid in the first place —‌ strode up to the caught thief.

“Didn’t expect to find some kid.” Ace thrashed against the grip the cops had on him. He glared up at the detective speaking to him as he came closer, a smarmy grin on his face. “You have your teammate to thank for this.” The man grabbed Ace roughly by the hair, yanking his head up to meet his gaze. “You were sold out.”

Ace briefly stopped his struggle. His eyes went wide as soon as those words hit his ears. The detective let go of his hair, letting his face hit the asphalt. More gravel ended up in his mouth.

“Suspect confirmed,” said one of the officers. “Cuff him!”

Ace froze the second that the handcuffs were slapped on his wrists.

* * *

**April 20, 2021**

**Time: Unknown**

**Location: Unknown**

“Guess the drug was too strong… wake him up.” 

Ace woke up not being able to breathe, brown eyes going wide with the shock that had brought him back to consciousness. It was cold, practically freezing and he couldn’t breathe. Something had a tight grip on the back of his hair, twisting and tugging on the strands. It was strong enough to keep his head in place. He struggled, trying to push back.

Then, the hand yanked his head back. Ace gasped, sputtered and choked, doing his best to draw air into his lungs. The hand finally let him go, and Ace’s head dropped forward. His hair and face were dripping with icy water. He coughed, easing out his breathing as best as he could.

“No dozing off,” said a voice on the edge of his senses.

Ace tried to move, to try to rub his eyes in order to clear his vision or do something. But he couldn't move his arms. Ace jerked them, only to be met with the biting sting of metal. His phantom thief attire was gone now, replaced by his school’s uniform. When had that…? Why was everything so hazy…? What was going on?

His vision began to clear. His arm felt like it had been punched by a thousand tiny fists… Ace spotted empty syringes on the floor. ...drugs. They had drugged him with something, all while he was unconscious. ...When did he pass out? And why did everything hurt…? Ace jerked his arms again. He couldn’t free them. It took the thief a second to realize why. 

He was handcuffed.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Ace glanced over at the speaker. A detective? “Give it up!”

Before Ace could realize what was about to happen, the detective kicked him. Ace grunted as the chair toppled over, sending him crashing to the ground. His head hit the concrete floor, making the boy cry out at the impact. The detective’s foot kept it pinned down, his heel grinding into Ace’s temple “Come on, cooperate. Or what, you want another shot?”

Ace looked up at him. Why? Why was he doing this? Out of the corner of his eye, Ace spotted something hanging near the room’s ceiling. The detective seemed to notice where the boy was looking.

“What about the camera?” the man asked, finally pulling away from him. He crouched down. Ace opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off when the detective seized him by the hair. He yanked it, making the boy wince and meet his gaze. “Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?”

”What do you… mean…?” Ace croaked out. His voice… his throat, why did it hurt some damn much?!

“Still haven’t figured it out? There are no laws here,” said the detective, dropping the boy's head on the ground, “that will protect criminals like you!”

He sharply kicked Ace in the stomach. Ace let out a harsh cough, gasping and wheezing on his own breath at the impact. He was just a kid… he was only seventeen years old, why were they doing this to him?!

He squinted, lifting his head up. The detective took a clipboard from one of his subordinates while Ace shifted around. He pushed himself up the best he could. The handcuffed hands were making it rather difficult.

“Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons… Manslaughter too, yeah?” Ace looked up at the man. Manslaughter? “Talk about the works. To think that all those crimes were led by a punk like this… And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it… Huh?” Ace had opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t say anything that wasn’t choked.

_ I was… enjoying it? _

_ “No… _ ” echoed a voice in Ace’s head, making a dull pain throb in his temple, “ _ we weren’t…” _

The detective stared down at Ace with a look of disgust. “… You should know your place.”

Ace wanted to spit at him. With a jerk of his superior’s head, the subordinate quickly strode over to Ace. He crouched down, and made swift work of the handcuffs. The moment that he felt the metal leave his skin, Ace brought his hands around to his lap and rubbed at his wrists. They had been rubbed red with dark bruises starting to form on the skin.

A clipboard was shoved in front of Ace’s face.

“Sign here,” said the detective. Ace blinked. “It’s a confession under your name.” Ace stared at the board for a moment. Something in the back of his head told him that he had to sign this, but… the reason why still eluded him.

“...I-I…” Ace slowly nodded, swallowing down the sting in his throat. “I understand…” He took the board.

“Don’t expect to walk out here in one piece” The detective roughly grabbed his face, shoving a pen into his free hand. “We’re going to make you understand… One must take full responsibility for their actions.”

Ace stared at the man for a moment as he pulled away. He rubbed at a cheek. Okay…  _ OW _ . He sighed, shaking away some of the still-cold water droplets that were dripping from the ends of his own brunette strands.

He signed his name… He signed his real name at the bottom of the clipboard on the dotted line.

_ Apollo Justice. _

* * *

**April 20**

**Time: Unknown**

**Interrogation Room**

Apollo was dragged down to an interrogation room underneath the police station after signing that confession. There was nothing in there but a table and two chairs, both facing each other. He was thrown in there, with the door locking behind him. Apollo sat down on the far end of the table. He sat there in silence, left alone with his thoughts and his nerves…

And pain. His entire body was sore from the beating he ‘accidentally’ received from the officers. His arm still had a lingering burn from where he assumed he was stuck with whatever the heck the cops put into his system. He could faintly recall them saying something about a truth serum? Was that even a real thing? It seemed more like something out of a science fiction novel than anything…

Apollo snapped out of his thoughts when the interrogation room’s door opened. In walked a young woman, somewhere in her early thirties. She had long, light brown hair that rested just a little below her shoulders. A red scarf was wrapped around her neck, and she carried herself more like she was a military officer than what she really was.

Apollo knew her. She was Detective Lana Skye.

“I… didn’t expect to see you here,” said Lana. Apollo could see teal eyes had gone wide upon spotting him. ...had she really not suspected him at all? The woman cleared her throat before taking a seat across from him, placing her bag on the table. “You’ll be answering my questions this time. Hey, are you alright?” Apollo didn’t know how to answer. He simply shook his head.

He heard the woman let out a growl. “Those bastards… Justice, can you hear me?”

“I…” He could but… In the end, Apollo just nodded. Lana let out a sigh. 

“I apologize. Anything can happen here, and I lack the power to stop them. As a detective, anyhow. ” Apollo merely hummed in response to that… no matter what, it wasn’t right for them to go as hard as they did. Lana withdrew a file from her briefcase. “That’s why I need you to answer me honestly. We don’t have much time. What was your objective? Why cause such a major incident? What is the method behind what you’re doing here?”

“You haven’t figured it out…?” Apollo smirked, though the smug look on his face was weak. “I thought you would believe in such a world, Detective Skye.” Her teal eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

“At least you’re coherent.”

Apollo sighed, leaning forward and resting his hand on his forehead. “Barely.”

“Enough with the snark.” Lana was just about glaring at him. She cleared her throat. “Now, I need you to tell me everything. When and where did you find out about that world? How is it possible to steal another’s heart? I need your account of everything. Tell me everything, right from the beginning.”

“I’ll do my best.” Apollo couldn’t very well make any promises. His head still hurt… whatever the cops who arrested him did… A lot of things in his recent memory felt… off. Like there was something that he was missing. Something important… Just what it was… “Um… where exactly do you want me to start?”

“Start from as far back as you remember,” Lana told him. “When this whole mess began.”

“I…” When this mess began? It was hard to tell where exactly everything started. Was it with the incident in March? The threat they faced over the winter? The castle?! Or was it even farther back than that?!

The corner’s of Apollo’s vision went dark for a moment. Behind Lana, Apollo saw a glowing blue butterfly hover in the air, as if it had been there for the very moment he was thrown into the room… like it belonged there.

A gentle voice echoed in his head.. a much different one than what he became accustomed to hearing.

“ _You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance,”_ it said. Who was that…? A young girl? And why did it sound… why did it sound so familiar…?! “ _This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may be yet another possibility open to you… I beg you. Please overcome this game, and save the world… The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds — the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day… when the game started half a year ago… For the sake of your world’s future… as well as your own… you must remember…_

Remember? Remember what? Everything that had just happened… He knew he was supposed to do something, but what exactly it was, he couldn’t really remember. Apollo groaned, raking a hand through his hair as he desperately racked his brain for the answer. The memory of his relationships, of his friends… that had something to do with it, right? ...and this game.

_ Half a year… what happened half a year to set everything off—  _ Thinking about all that had happened back then, the answer came to Apollo pretty quickly. If he needed to go back through everything that had happened to find the answer to his question… to figure out what he was meant to do… then so be it.

He would win this ‘unjust game’, no matter what.

Apollo let out a sigh. “It all started the day my probation began…”


End file.
